AMC Removes Advisories About “Soundless Scene” in “The Last Jedi” in Their Cinemas

Those who have already seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi on cinemas after its premiere two weeks ago would know what AMC meant with their special advisory posted before all their screenings of the movie. It served as too much of a spoiler that AMC decided to take them down.

On the early days of The Last Jedi‘s box office run, AMC had all its 660 cinema locations put up a notice telling how, at one point in the film, all sound cuts off even as the visuals continue to play. They explained it as a creative choice by the director.

The scene in question, lasting 10 seconds of the movie’s running time, involves the character of Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern) sacrificing herself to buy time for the dwindling Resistance to escape by pointing their flagship at the pursuing First Order fleet and going into light-speed, devastating the vessels in one go.

When it was first seen by moviegoers on AMC theaters, some of them assumed it was a sound glitch and complained to the management. This spurred AMC to put up the signs before their screenings. As a result however, they contributed to criticisms being level by “traditional” Star Wars fans about The Last Jedi. leading AMC to remove the advisory.

Ben Morris, The Last Jedi‘s VFX supervisor, noted that the “soundless scene” was a first of its kind in the Star Wars franchise. “We had always hoped that would resonate, both as a story beat and as a striking visual,” he tells Collider. “And when I heard all of the cries and gasps in the silence, it was just fantastic.”

Old-school fans may complain, but The Last Jedi is still going strong at the box office. As of Tuesday this week, its total global take has already gone over $800 million.